The Raw OPL Capture format first appeared in the StarPort BBS Intro, developed by Sami Tammilehto (also known as Psi from Future Crew). Later the format was updated by Roman Dolejší (Rdos of Dimension) to support OPL3 data specification, which was released along with the first DOS AdLib music recording program Rdos AdLib Catcher and RdosPlay player.

Once emulators became more powerful, use of the RAW format declined and it has now been superseded by DRO.